Gel with high dispersibility and method for preparing same

ABSTRACT

A novel alumina gel is described having an elevated dispersibility index, and in particular a dispersibility index greater than  70 %, a crystallite size between  1  and  35  nm, and a sulphur content between  0.001 % and  2 % by weight, and a sodium content between  0.001 % and  2 % by weight, the weight percentages being expressed in relation to the total mass of alumina gel. 
     The present invention also discloses the method for preparing said gel comprising at least one step of precipitating at least one aluminium salt, at least one step of heating the suspension obtained and a final heat treatment step for forming the alumina gel.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the preparation of alumina gels. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a novel alumina gelexhibiting high dispersibility and the method of preparation thereof byprecipitation.

PRIOR ART

Several operating protocols known in the prior art lead to dispersiblealumina gels. Several patents describe in particular a preparationprocess referred to as “sol-gel”.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,928 describes a process for producing a waterdispersible alumina comprising a step of forming an aqueous aluminaslurry, an acidification step for producing an acidified slurry having apH between 5 and 9, an ageing step at an elevated temperature above 70°C. for a sufficient period of time to convert the alumina to a colloidalgel, followed by a step of drying said colloidal gel thus obtained.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,849 also describes a process for producing an alphaalumina comprising a step of dispersing an aluminium hydrate having adispersibility below 70%, a step of acidifying the slurry obtained to apH below 3.5 to at least partially dissolve the aluminium hydrate, astep of hydrothermally treating the acidified slurry obtained at atemperature between 150 and 200° C., at a pressure between 5 and 20 atmfor a duration between 0.15 and 4 hours to obtain a colloidal boehmitehaving a dispersibility greater than 90%.

The preparation of alumina gel by precipitation is also well known inthe prior art. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 7,790,652 describes thepreparation by precipitation of an alumina support material having aspecific pore distribution, capable of being used as a catalyst supportin a process of hydroconversion of heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

The alumina support material is prepared according to a methodcomprising a first step of forming an alumina slurry by mixing, in acontrolled fashion, a first alkaline aqueous solution and a first acidicaqueous solution, at least one of said acidic and basic solutions, orboth, comprising an aluminium compound. The acidic and basic solutionsare mixed in proportions such that the pH of the resulting slurry isbetween 8 and 11. The acidic and basic solutions are also mixed inquantities making it possible to obtain a slurry containing the desiredquantity of alumina, in particular, the first step makes it possible toobtain 25 to 35% by weight of alumina relative to the total quantity ofalumina formed at the end of the two precipitation steps. The first steptakes place at a temperature between 20 and 40° C. When the desiredquantity of alumina is formed, the temperature of the suspension isincreased to a temperature between 45 and 70° C., then the heatedsuspension is subjected to a second precipitation step by contactingsaid suspension with a second alkaline aqueous solution and a secondacidic aqueous solution, at least one of the two solutions or bothcomprising an aluminium compound. Similarly, the pH is adjusted tobetween 8 and 10.5 by the proportions of the acidic and basic solutionsadded and the remaining quantity of alumina to be formed in the secondstep is contributed by the quantities of the second acidic and basicsolutions added. The second step takes place at a temperature between 20and 40° C. The alumina gel thus formed comprises at least 95% boehmite.The dispersibility of the alumina gel thus obtained is not mentioned.The alumina gel is then filtered, washed and optionally dried by methodsknown to the person skilled in the art, without a preliminary maturingstep, to produce an alumina powder which is then formed by methods knownto the person skilled in the art, then calcined to produce the finalalumina support.

The first precipitation step of the preparation method of U.S. Pat. No.7,790,652 is limited to a low production of alumina, comprised between25 and 35% by weight, as a higher alumina production at the end of thefirst step does not permit optimal filtration of the gel obtained.Furthermore, increasing the production of alumina in the first step ofU.S. Pat. No. 7,790,652 would not permit forming of the gel thusobtained.

The present invention proposes to overcome the drawbacks of thepreparation method according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,790,652.

The applicant has thus discovered a novel method for preparing analumina gel by precipitation making it possible to obtain said aluminagel at the end of a single precipitation step, taking place at lowtemperature, the second precipitation step being optional. In particularthe novel method of preparing alumina gel according to the inventionmakes it possible to obtain at least 40% by weight of alumina in Al₂O₃equivalent relative to the total quantity of alumina formed at the endof said gel preparation method, in the first precipitation step, withthe possibility that the quantity of alumina formed at the end of thefirst precipitation step may even reach 100%, a second precipitationstep not being necessary in this case. Furthermore, the new preparationmethod according to the invention is characterised by the presence of afinal heat treatment step and in particular a final maturing step makingit possible to obtain an alumina gel having improved filterability,providing higher productivity of the method according to the invention,and making it easier to scale up the process to the industrial level.Said method according to the invention also makes it possible to obtainan alumina gel having a better dispersibility index compared withalumina gels of the prior art, thereby facilitating the forming thereofby the techniques known to the person skilled in the art.

One object of the present invention is therefore to provide an aluminagel having an elevated dispersibility index, and in particular adispersibility index greater than 70%, and capable of reaching 100%.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel methodfor preparing said alumina gel by precipitation, in an aqueous reactionmedium, of at least one basic precursor and at least one acidicprecursor, at least one of the basic or acidic precursors, or both,comprising aluminium, in relative proportions and in specific quantitiesdefining the operating conditions of said step and making it possible toobtain an alumina gel having an elevated dispersibility index, and inparticular a dispersibility index greater than 70%, preferably between70 and 100%, preferably between 80 and 100%, more preferably between 85and 100%, and even more preferably between 90 and 100%.

SUMMARY AND INTEREST OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is an alumina gel having an elevateddispersibility index, and in particular a dispersibility index greaterthan 70%, a crystallite size between 1 to 35 nm, and a sulphur contentbetween 0.001% and 2% by weight, and a sodium content between 0.001% and2% by weight, the weight percentages being expressed in relation to thetotal mass of alumina gel.

One advantage of the invention is that it provides a novel alumina gelhaving a very high dispersibility compared with alumina gels of theprior art.

An alumina gel characterised by an elevated dispersibility index will bemore readily formed by all of the forming techniques known to the personskilled in the art, such as for example by mixing-extrusion, pelletizingor the oil drop technique, than a gel having a low dispersibility index.

A further object of the present invention is a method for preparing saidalumina gel, said method comprising at least the following steps:

a) at least one step of precipitating alumina, in an aqueous reactionmedium, of at least one basic precursor selected from sodium aluminate,potassium aluminate, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxideand of at least one acidic precursor selected from aluminium sulphate,aluminium chloride, aluminium nitrate, sulphuric acid, hydrochloricacid, and nitric acid, in which at least one of the basic or acidicprecursors includes aluminium, the relative feed rate of the acidic andbasic precursors is chosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction mediumbetween 8.5 and 10.5 and the feed rate of the acidic and basicprecursor(s) containing aluminium is adjusted so as to obtain aprogression rate of the first step between 40 and 100%, the progressionrate being defined as the proportion of alumina formed in Al₂O₃equivalent during said first precipitation step relative to the totalquantity of alumina formed at the end of the precipitation step(s), saidstep a) taking place at a temperature between 10 and 50° C., and for aduration of between 2 minutes and 30 minutes,

b) a step of heat treating the suspension obtained at the end of stepa), at a temperature between 50 and 200° C. for a duration of between 30minutes and 5 hours,

c) a step of filtering the suspension obtained at the end of heattreatment step b), followed by at least one step of washing the gelobtained.

One advantage of the invention is that it provides a novel method ofpreparing an alumina gel by precipitation making it possible to obtain,in the first precipitation step, at least 40% by weight of alumina inAl₂O₃ equivalent relative to the total quantity of alumina formed at theend of the precipitation step(s), with the possibility that the quantityof alumina formed at the end of the first precipitation step may evenreach 100%, a second precipitation step not being necessary in thiscase. Furthermore, the method according to the invention characterisedby the combination of this alumina precipitation step producing anelevated quantity of alumina and a final step of heat treating thesuspension obtained makes it possible to obtain an alumina gel havingimproved filterability, providing higher productivity of the methodaccording to the invention, and making it easier to scale up the processto the industrial level.

Another advantage of the invention is that it provides a novel method ofpreparing an alumina gel by precipitation capable of comprising a singleprecipitation step and which is relatively inexpensive compared withconventional alumina preparation processes of the prior art such as forexample preparation processes of the sol-gel type.

A further advantage of the invention is that it provides a novel methodof preparation by precipitation of an alumina gel having an elevateddispersibility index compared with gels of the prior art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is an alumina gel having adispersibility index greater than 70%, a crystallite size of between 1and 35 nm, a sulphur content measured by X-ray fluorescence of between0.001% and 2% by weight, and a sodium content measured by ICP orinductively coupled plasma spectrometry of between 0.001% and 2% byweight, the weight percentages being expressed in relation to the totalmass of alumina gel.

Throughout the remainder of the text, dispersibility index is defined asthe percentage by weight of peptised alumina gel that can be dispersedby centrifugation in a polypropylene tube at 3600 G for 10 minutes.

Dispersibility is measured by dispersing 10% of boehmite or alumina gelin a suspension of water also containing 10% nitric acid relative to themass of boehmite. The suspension is then centrifuged at 3600 G rpm for10 minutes. The collected sediments are dried at 100° C. overnight thenweighed.

The dispersibility index, denoted DI, is obtained by the followingcalculation: DI(%)=100%-mass of dried sediments (%).

Preferably, the alumina gel according to the invention has adispersibility index between 70 and 100%, preferably between 80 and100%, more preferably between 85 and 100%, and even more preferablybetween 90 and 100%.

Preferably, the alumina gel according to the invention has a crystallitesize between 2 and 35 nm.

In particular, the alumina gel or boehmite in powder form according tothe invention is composed of crystallites of which the size, obtained bythe Scherrer formula in X-ray diffraction in the crystallographicdirections (020) and (120), is respectively between 2 and 20 nm andbetween 2 and 35 nm.

Preferably, the alumina gel according to the invention has a crystallitesize in the crystallographic direction (020) between 2 and 15 nm and acrystallite size in the crystallographic direction (120) between 2 and35 nm.

X-ray diffraction was carried out on the alumina gels or boehmites usingthe conventional powder method using a diffractometer.

The Scherrer formula is a formula used in X-ray diffraction on powdersor polycrystalline samples which relates the mid-height width of thediffraction peaks to the size of the crystallites. It is described indetail in the reference: Appl. Cryst. (1978). 11, 102-113 Scherrer aftersixty years: A survey and some new results in the determination ofcrystallite size, J. I. Langford and A. J. C. Wilson.

According to the invention, the alumina gel prepared in accordance withthe invention has an impurities content, and in particular a sulphurcontent measured by X-ray fluorescence of between 0.001% and 2% byweight, and a sodium content measured by ICP or inductively coupledplasma spectrometry of between 0.001% and 2% by weight, the weightpercentages being expressed in relation to the total mass of aluminagel.

Preferably, the alumina gel prepared according to the invention includesa sulphur content between 0.001% and 1% by weight, preferably between0.001 and 0.40% by weight, more preferably between 0.003 and 0.33% byweight, and even more preferably between 0.005 and 0.25% by weight.

Preferably, the alumina gel prepared according to the invention includesa sodium content between 0.001% and 1% by weight, preferably between0.001 and 0.15% by weight, more preferably between 0.0015 and 0.10% byweight, and even more preferably between 0.002 and 0.040% by weight.

Preparation Method

A further object of the present invention is a method for preparing saidalumina gel.

According to the invention, said preparation method comprises at leastone step a) of precipitating alumina, in an aqueous reaction medium, ofat least one basic precursor selected from sodium aluminate, potassiumaluminate, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide and of atleast one acidic precursor selected from aluminium sulphate, aluminiumchloride, aluminium nitrate, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, andnitric acid, in which at least one of the basic or acidic precursorsincludes aluminium, the relative feed rate of the acidic and basicprecursors is chosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction medium between8.5 and 10.5 and the feed rate of the acidic and basic precursor(s)containing aluminium is adjusted so as to obtain a progression rate ofthe first step between 40 and 100%, the progression rate being definedas the proportion of alumina formed in Al₂O₃ equivalent during saidfirst precipitation step a) relative to the total quantity of aluminaformed at the end of the precipitation step(s) and more generally at theend of the preparation method according to the invention, said step a)taking place at a temperature between 10 and 50° C., and for a durationbetween 2 minutes and 30 minutes.

In a general manner, the “progression rate” of the n^(th) precipitationstep is understood to mean the percentage of alumina formed in Al₂O₃equivalent at said n^(th) step relative to the total quantity of aluminaformed at the end of all the precipitation steps and more generally atthe end of the steps of preparing the alumina gel.

In the case where the progression rate of said precipitation step a) is100%, said precipitation step a) generally makes it possible to obtainan alumina suspension having an Al₂O₃ concentration of between 20 and100 g/l, for preference between 20 and 80 g/l, and preferably between 20and 50 g/l.

Precipitation Step a)

Mixing of at least one basic precursor and at least one acidic precursorin the aqueous reaction medium requires either that at least the basicprecursor or the acidic precursor includes aluminium, or that both thebasic and acidic precursors include aluminium.

Basic precursors that include aluminium are sodium aluminate andpotassium aluminate.

The preferred basic precursor is sodium aluminate.

Acidic precursors that include aluminium are aluminium sulphate,aluminium chloride and aluminium nitrate. The preferred acidic precursoris aluminium sulphate.

Preferably, the basic or acidic precursor(s) are added at said firstprecipitation step a) in aqueous solutions.

Preferably, the aqueous reaction medium is water.

Preferably, said step a) takes place while stirring.

Preferably, said step a) is performed in the absence of organicadditive.

The acidic and basic precursors, whether or not they contain aluminium,are mixed, preferably in solution, in the aqueous reaction medium, inproportions such that the pH of the resulting suspension is between 8.5and 10.5.

According to the invention, it is the relative feed rate of the acidicand basic precursors, whether or not they contain aluminium, that ischosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction medium between 8.5 and 10.5.

In the preferred case where the basic and acidic precursors arerespectively sodium aluminate and aluminium sulphate, the mass ratio ofsaid basic precursor to said acidic precursor is advantageously between1.6 and 2.05.

For the other basic and acidic precursors, whether or not they containaluminium, the base/acid mass ratios are established by a curve ofneutralisation of the base by the acid. Such a curve is readily obtainedby the person skilled in the art.

Preferably, said precipitation step a) is performed at a pH between 8.5and 10 and more preferably between 8.7 and 9.9.

The acidic and basic precursors are also mixed in quantities making itpossible to obtain a suspension containing the desired quantity ofalumina, in relation to the final alumina concentration to be achieved.In particular, said step a) makes it possible to obtain 40 to 100% byweight of alumina in Al₂O₃ equivalent relative to the total quantity ofalumina formed at the end of the precipitation step(s). According to theinvention, it is the feed rate of the acidic and basic precursor(s) thatis adjusted so as to obtain a progression rate of the first step ofbetween 40 and 100%.

For preference, the progression rate of said precipitation step a) isbetween 40 and 99%, preferably between 45 and 90%, and more preferablybetween 50 to 85%. In the case where the progression rate obtained atthe end of precipitation step a) is below 100%, a second precipitationstep is necessary so as to increase the quantity of alumina formed. Inthis case, the progression rate is defined as the proportion of aluminaformed in Al₂O₃ equivalent at said precipitation step a) relative to thetotal quantity of alumina formed at the end of the two precipitationsteps of the preparation method according to the invention.

Thus, depending on the target alumina concentration at the end of theprecipitation step(s), preferably comprised between 20 and 100 g/l, thequantities of aluminium to be contributed by the acidic and/or basicprecursors are calculated and the feed rate of the precursors isadjusted in relation to the aluminium concentration of said addedprecursors, to the quantity of water added to the reaction medium, andto the required progression rate for the precipitation step(s).

The feed rate of the acidic and/or basic precursor(s) containingaluminium depends on the size of the reaction vessel used and thus onthe quantity of water added to the reaction medium.

For preference, said precipitation step a) is performed at a temperaturebetween 10 and 45° C., preferably between 15 and 45° C., more preferablybetween 20 and 45° C., and even more preferably between 20 and 40° C.

It is important that said precipitation step a) takes place at lowtemperature. In the case where said preparation method according to theinvention comprises two precipitation steps, precipitation step a) isadvantageously performed at a temperature below the temperature of thesecond precipitation step.

For preference, said precipitation step a) is performed for a durationbetween 5 and 20 minutes, and preferably between 5 and 15 minutes.

Heat Treatment Step b)

According to the invention, said preparation method comprises a step b)of heat treating the suspension obtained at the end of precipitationstep a), at a temperature between 60 and 200° C. for a duration ofbetween 30 minutes and 5 hours, in order to obtain the alumina gel.Preferably, said heat treatment step b) is a maturation step.

For preference, said heat treatment step b) is performed at atemperature between 65 and 150° C., preferably between 65 and 130° C.,more preferably between 70 and 110° C., and even more preferably between70 and 95° C.

For preference, said heat treatment step b) is performed for a durationof between 40 minutes and 5 hours, preferably between 40 minutes and 3hours, and more preferably between 45 minutes and 2 hours.

Optional Second Precipitation Step

According to a preferred embodiment, in the case where the progressionrate obtained at the end of precipitation step a) is below 100%, saidpreparation method preferably comprises a second precipitation step a′)after the first precipitation step.

Said second precipitation step makes it possible to increase theproportion of alumina produced. Said second precipitation step a′) isadvantageously put into effect between said first precipitation step a)and the heat treatment step b).

In the case where a second precipitation step is put into effect, a stepof heating the suspension obtained at the end of precipitation step a)is advantageously implemented between the two precipitation steps a) anda′).

For preference, said step of heating the suspension obtained at the endof step a), put into effect between said step a) and the secondprecipitation step a′), takes place at a temperature between 20 and 90°C., preferably between 30 and 80° C., more preferably between 30 and 70°C., and even more preferably between 40 and 65° C.

For preference, said heating step is performed for a duration of between7 and 45 minutes, and preferably between 7 and 35 minutes.

Said heating step is advantageously implemented according to all heatingmethods known to the person skilled in the art.

According to the preferred embodiment, said preparation method comprisesa second step of precipitating the suspension obtained at the end of theheating step, said second step being carried out by adding to saidsuspension at least one basic precursor selected from sodium aluminate,potassium aluminate, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxideand at least one acidic precursor selected from aluminium sulphate,aluminium chloride, aluminium nitrate, sulphuric acid, hydrochloricacid, and nitric acid, in which at least one of the basic or acidicprecursors includes aluminium, the relative feed rate of the acidic andbasic precursors is chosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction mediumbetween 8.5 and 10.5 and the feed rate of the acidic and basicprecursor(s) containing aluminium is adjusted so as to obtain aprogression rate of the second step between 0 and 60%, the progressionrate being defined as the proportion of alumina formed in Al₂O₃equivalent during said second precipitation step relative to the totalquantity of alumina formed at the end of the two precipitation steps andpreferably at the end of step a′) of the preparation method according tothe invention, said step taking place at a temperature between 40 and90° C., and for a duration between 2 minutes and 50 minutes.

As in the first precipitation step a), the addition of at least onebasic precursor and at least one acidic precursor to the heatedsuspension requires either that at least the basic precursor or theacidic precursor includes aluminium, or that both the basic and acidicprecursors include aluminium.

Basic precursors that include aluminium are sodium aluminate andpotassium aluminate. The preferred basic precursor is sodium aluminate.

Acidic precursors that include aluminium are aluminium sulphate,aluminium chloride and aluminium nitrate. The preferred acidic precursoris aluminium sulphate.

Preferably, said second precipitation step takes place while stirring.

Preferably, said second step is performed in the absence of organicadditive.

The acidic and basic precursors, whether or not they contain aluminium,are mixed, preferably in solution, in the aqueous reaction medium, inproportions such that the pH of the resulting suspension is between 8.5and 10.5.

As at precipitation step a), it is the relative feed rate of the acidicand basic precursors, whether or not they contain aluminium, that ischosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction medium between 8.5 and 10.5.

In the preferred case where the basic and acidic precursors arerespectively sodium aluminate and aluminium sulphate, the mass ratio ofsaid basic precursor to said acidic precursor is advantageously between1.6 and 2.05.

For the other basic and acidic precursors, whether or not they containaluminium, the base/acid mass ratios are established by a curve ofneutralisation of the base by the acid. Such a curve is readily obtainedby the person skilled in the art.

For preference, said second precipitation step is performed at a pHbetween 8.5 and 10 and preferably between 8.7 and 9.9.

The acidic and basic precursors are also mixed in quantities making itpossible to obtain a suspension containing the desired quantity ofalumina, in relation to the final alumina concentration to be achieved.In particular, said second precipitation step makes it possible toobtain 0 to 60% by weight of alumina in Al₂O₃ equivalent relative to thetotal quantity of alumina formed at the end of the two precipitationsteps and preferably at the end of step a′). As in precipitation stepa), it is the feed rate of the acidic and basic precursor(s) containingaluminium that is adjusted so as to obtain a progression rate of thesecond step between 0 and 60%, the progression rate being defined as theproportion of alumina formed in said second precipitation step relativeto the total quantity of alumina formed at the end of the twoprecipitation steps of the method according to the invention andpreferably at the end of step a′).

For preference, the progression rate of said second precipitation stepa) is between 1 and 60%, preferably between 10 and 55%, and morepreferably between 15 to 55%.

Thus, depending on the target alumina concentration at the end of theprecipitation step(s), preferably comprised between 20 and 100 g/l, thequantities of aluminium to be contributed by the acidic and/or basicprecursors are calculated and the feed rate of the precursors isadjusted in relation to the aluminium concentration of said addedprecursors, to the quantity of water added to the reaction medium, andto the required progression rate for each of the precipitation steps.

As in precipitation step a), the feed rate of the acidic and/or basicprecursor(s) containing aluminium depends of the size of the reactionvessel used and thus on the quantity of water added to the reactionmedium.

By way of example, if a 3-litre reaction vessel is used and it isproposed to obtain 1 litre of alumina suspension with a final Al₂O₃concentration of 50 g/l, the target progression rate is 50% in Al₂O₃equivalent for the first precipitation step. Thus, 50% of the totalalumina must be added at precipitation step a). The alumina precursorsare sodium aluminate at a concentration of 155 g/l of Al₂O₃ andaluminium sulphate at a concentration of 102 g/l of Al₂O₃ The pH ofprecipitation of the first step is fixed at 9.5 and the second at 9. Thequantity of water added to the reaction vessel is 622 ml.

For the first precipitation step a) taking place at 30° C. for 8minutes, the feed rate of aluminium sulphate must be 10.5 ml/min and thefeed rate of sodium aluminate is 13.2 ml/min. The mass ratio of sodiumaluminate to aluminium sulphate is therefore 1.91.

For the second precipitation step, taking place at 70° C. for 30minutes, the feed rate of aluminium sulphate must be 2.9 ml/min and thefeed rate of sodium aluminate is 3.5 ml/min. The mass ratio of sodiumaluminate to aluminium sulphate is therefore 1.84.

For preference, said second precipitation step is performed at atemperature between 40 and 80° C., preferably between 45 and 70° C., andeven more preferably between 50 and 70° C.

For preference, the second precipitation step is performed for aduration of between 5 and 45 minutes, and preferably between 7 and 40minutes.

The second precipitation step generally makes it possible to obtain analumina suspension having an Al₂O₃ concentration of between 20 and 100g/l, for preference between 20 and 80 g/l, and preferably between 20 and50 g/l.

In the case where said second precipitation step is put into effect,said preparation method also advantageously comprises a second step ofheating the suspension obtained at the end of said second precipitationstep at a temperature between 50 and 95° C. and preferably between 60and 90° C.

For preference, said second heating step is performed for a duration ofbetween 7 and 45 minutes.

Said second heating step is advantageously implemented according to allheating methods known to the person skilled in the art.

Said second heating step makes it possible to increase the temperatureof the reaction medium before subjecting the suspension obtained to heattreatment step b).

Filtration Step c)

In accordance with the invention, the method of preparing alumina gelaccording to the invention comprises a step c) of filtering thesuspension obtained at the end of heat treatment step b), followed by atleast one step of washing the gel obtained. Said filtration step isadvantageously implemented according to all methods known to the personskilled in the art.

The filterability of the suspension obtained at the end of precipitationstep a) or of the two precipitation steps is improved by the presence ofsaid final heat treatment step b) of the suspension obtained, said heattreatment step being conducive to the productivity of the methodaccording to the invention, and to the scaling up of the process to theindustrial level. Said filtration step is advantageously followed by atleast one step of washing with water and preferably by one to threewashing steps, with a quantity of water equal to the quantity ofprecipitate filtered.

The preparation method according to the present invention comprises atleast one alumina precipitation step making it possible to obtain atleast 40% by weight of alumina relative to the total quantity of aluminaformed in Al₂O₃ equivalent at the end of the process, and at least onefinal step of heat treatment of the suspension obtained, thus providingan alumina gel according to the invention having a dispersibility indexgreater than 70% and a crystallite size between 2 and 35 nm.

The present invention also relates to the alumina gel capable of beingobtained by the preparation method according to the invention.

The invention is illustrated by the following examples which are in noway limitative thereof.

EXAMPLES Example 1: (Comparative)

A commercial powder of an alumina gel Pural SB3 is prepared via asol-gel route by hydrolysis-polycondensation of an aluminium alcoxide.

The characteristics of the Pural SB3 boehmite gel are summarised inTable 1.

TABLE 1 Characteristics of Pural SB3. Commercial alumina gelDispersibility index 98 Size (020) (nm) 3.1 Size (120) (nm) 4.7 SodiumNa (ppm) <detection limit Sulphur S (ppm) <detection limit

The sulphur content measured by the X-ray fluorescence method, and thesodium content measured by ICP or inductively coupled plasmaspectrometry are below the detection limit of these measuring methods.

Example 2 (Comparative)

An alumina gel is synthesised by a preparation method not according tothe invention in that the precipitation step is performed at hightemperature, that is at a temperature of 60° C.

Stirring at 350 rpm is maintained throughout the synthesis. Thesynthesis takes place in a 5-litre reaction vessel in 2 steps, aprecipitation step and a step of maturation of the suspension obtained.

The target final alumina concentration is 50 g/l.

A step of precipitating aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodium aluminateNaAlOO is performed at 60° C. and pH=10.2 for a duration of 20 minutes.The concentrations of the aluminium precursors used are as follows:Al₂(SO₄)=at 102 g/l in Al₂O₃ and NaAlOO at 155 g/l in Al₂O₃.

A solution of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) is added continuously for 30minutes at a rate of 25.9 ml/min to a solution of sodium aluminateNaAlOO in a base/acid mass ratio=2.0 so as to adjust the pH to a valueof 10.2. The entirety of the precursors is placed in contact at atemperature of 60° C.

A suspension containing an alumina precipitate is obtained.

The target final alumina concentration being 50 g/l, the feed rates ofthe precursors aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodium aluminate NaAlOOcontaining aluminium introduced at the first precipitation step arerespectively 25.9 ml/min and 34.1 ml/min.

These feed rates of acidic and basic precursors containing aluminiummake it possible to obtain a progression rate of 100% at the end of thefirst precipitation step.

The suspension obtained is then subjected to a temperature increase from60 to 90° C.

The suspension then undergoes a maturation step in which it ismaintained at 90° C. for 60 minutes.

The suspension obtained is then filtered by passing water through asintered disk Buchner funnel and the alumina gel obtained is washed 3times with 3.5 litres of distilled water at 70° C. The filtering andwashing time is 3 h.

The characteristics of the alumina gel thus obtained are summarised inTable 2.

TABLE 2 Characteristics of alumina obtained according to Example 2.Example 3 Dispersibility index 0 Ta (10% (%)) Size (020) (nm) 2.9 Size(120) (nm) 3.4 Sodium Na (%) 0.0068 Sulphur S (%) 0.042 Filtration time3 h

Example 2 not according to the invention indicates the importance ofworking at low temperature during the precipitation step and inparticular during the first precipitation step. Thus, a precipitationstep performed at a temperature of 70° C., outside the ranges claimed,does not make it possible to obtain a dispersible gel. However, thedispersion of 10% of alumina gel thus obtained in a water suspensionalso containing 10% nitric acid relative to the mass of alumina gel,followed by centrifugation of the suspension at 3600 G for 10 minutes,yields 100% sediments.

Example 3 (Comparative)

An alumina gel is synthesised by a preparation method not according tothe invention in that the method of preparing the gel in Example 3 doesnot include a heat treatment step and in that the first precipitationstep a) does not produce a quantity of alumina greater than 40% relativeto the total quantity of alumina formed at the end of the secondprecipitation step. Example 3 is carried out according to thepreparation method described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,790,562.

The synthesis is performed in a 7-litre reaction vessel with a finalsuspension of 5 litres in two precipitation steps. The quantity of wateradded to the reaction vessel is 3868 ml. The target final aluminaconcentration is 30 g/l.

A first step of precipitating aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodiumaluminate NaAlOO is performed at 30° C. and pH=9.3 for a duration of 8minutes. The concentrations of the aluminium precursors used are asfollows: Al₂(SO₄)=at 102g/l in Al₂O₃ and NaAlOO at 155 g/l in Al₂O₃.Stirring at 350 rpm is maintained throughout the synthesis.

A solution of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) is added continuously for 8minutes at a rate of 19.6 ml/min to a solution of sodium aluminateNaAlOO in a base/acid mass ratio=1.80 so as to adjust the pH to a valueof 9.3. The temperature of the reaction medium is maintained at 30° C.

A suspension containing an alumina precipitate is obtained.

The target final alumina concentration being 30 g/l, the feed rates ofthe precursors aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodium aluminate NaAlOOcontaining aluminium introduced at the first precipitation step arerespectively 19.6 ml/min and 23.3 ml/min.

These feed rates of acidic and basic precursors containing aluminiummake it possible to obtain a progression rate of 30% at the end of thefirst precipitation step.

The suspension obtained is then subjected to a temperature increase from30 to 57° C.

A second step of co-precipitation of the suspension obtained is thenperformed by adding aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) at a concentration of102 g/l in Al₂O₃ and sodium aluminate NaAlOO at a concentration of 155g/l in Al₂O₃. A solution of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) is thereforeadded continuously to the heated suspension obtained at the end of thefirst precipitation step for 30 minutes at a rate of 12.8 ml/min to asolution of sodium aluminate NaAlOO in a base/acid mass ratio=1.68 so asto adjust the pH to a value of 8.7. The temperature of the reactionmedium in the second step is maintained at 57° C.

A suspension containing an alumina precipitate is obtained.

The target final alumina concentration being 30 g/l, the feed rates ofthe precursors aluminium sulphate Al2(SO4) and sodium aluminate NaAlOOcontaining aluminium introduced at the second precipitation step arerespectively 12.8 ml/min and 14.1 ml/min.

These feed rates of acidic and basic precursors containing aluminiummake it possible to obtain a progression rate of 70% at the end of thesecond precipitation step.

The suspension thus obtained is not subjected to a maturation step.

The suspension obtained is then filtered by passing water through asintered disk Buchner funnel and the alumina gel obtained is washed 3times with 5 litres of distilled water at 70° C. The filtering andwashing time is 4 h.

The characteristics of the alumina gel thus obtained are summarised inTable 3.

TABLE 3 Characteristics of alumina obtained according to Example 3.Example 3 Dispersibility index 60 Ta (10% (%) Size (020) (nm) 2.9 Size(120) (nm) 4.1 Sodium Na (ppm) 0.011 Sulphur S (ppm) 0.057 Filtrationtime 4 h

Example 4 (According to the Invention)

An alumina gel is synthesised by a preparation method according to theinvention in a 7-litre reaction vessel with a final suspension of 5litres in 3 steps, two precipitation steps followed by a maturationstep.

The target final alumina concentration is 45 g/l. The quantity of wateradded to the reaction vessel is 3267 ml. Stirring at 350 rpm ismaintained throughout the synthesis.

A first step of co-precipitation in water of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄)and sodium aluminate NaAlOO is performed at 30° C. and pH=9.5 for aduration of 8 minutes. The concentrations of the aluminium precursorsused are as follows: Al₂(SO₄)=at 102 g/l in Al₂O₃ and NaAlOO at 155 g/lin Al₂O₃.

A solution of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) is added continuously for 8minutes at a rate of 69.6 ml/min to a solution of sodium aluminateNaAlOO at a rate of 84.5 ml/min in a base/acid mass ratio =1.84 so as toadjust the pH to a value of 9.5. The temperature of the reaction mediumis maintained at 30° C.

A suspension containing an alumina precipitate is obtained.

The target final alumina concentration being 45 g/l, the feed rates ofthe precursors aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodium aluminate NaAlOOcontaining aluminium introduced at the first precipitation step arerespectively 69.6 ml/min and 84.5 ml/min.

These feed rates of acidic and basic precursors containing aluminiummake it possible to obtain a progression rate of 72% at the end of thefirst precipitation step.

The suspension obtained is then subjected to a temperature increase from30 to 68° C.

A second step of co-precipitation of the suspension obtained is thenperformed by adding aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) at a concentration of102 g/l in Al₂O₃ and sodium aluminate NaAlOO at a concentration of 155g/l in Al₂O₃. A solution of aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) is thereforeadded continuously to the heated suspension obtained at the end of thefirst precipitation step for 30 minutes at a rate of 7.2 ml/min to asolution of sodium aluminate NaAlOO in a base/acid mass ratio=1.86 so asto adjust the pH to a value of 9. The temperature of the reaction mediumin the second step is maintained at 68° C.

A suspension containing an alumina precipitate is obtained.

The target final alumina concentration being 45 g/I, the feed rates ofthe precursors aluminium sulphate Al₂(SO₄) and sodium aluminate NaAlOOcontaining aluminium introduced at the second precipitation step arerespectively 7.2 ml/min and 8.8 ml/min.

These feed rates of acidic and basic precursors containing aluminiummake it possible to obtain a progression rate of 28% at the end of thesecond precipitation step.

The suspension obtained is then subjected to a temperature increase from68 to 90° C.

The suspension then undergoes a heat treatment step in which it ismaintained at 90° C. for 60 minutes.

The suspension obtained is then filtered by passing water through asintered disk Buchner funnel and the alumina gel obtained is washed 3times with 5 litres of distilled water. The filtering and washing timeis 3 h.

The characteristics of the alumina gel thus obtained are summarised inTable 4.

TABLE 4 Characteristics of alumina obtained according to Example 4.Example 3: Dispersibility index 100 Ta (10% (%) Size (020) (nm) 2.8 Size(120) (nm) 3.5 Sodium Na (%) 0.074 Sulphur S (%) 0.0364 Filtration time3 h

A gel having a dispersibility index of 100% is thus obtained.Furthermore, the gel obtained by the method according to the inventioncharacterised by the presence of a final heat treatment step makes itpossible to obtain an alumina gel with good filterability, that is afiltration time compatible with scaling up of the process to theindustrial level, thereby facilitating improved productivity of saidprocess.

It will also be noted that the alumina gel obtained by the preparationmethod according to the invention is readily formable.

The preparation method according to the invention yielding a 100%dispersible gel is also less expensive than the conventional aluminapreparation methods of the prior art such as for example the sol-geltype methods of preparing Pural SB3 in Example 1.

Example 5 (Comparative)

Example 5 not according to the invention is carried out in the samemanner and under the same operating conditions as Example 3 with thedifference that the suspension obtained at the end of the secondprecipitation step does not undergo a maturation step.

The suspension obtained at the end of the second precipitation step isthen filtered by passing water through a sintered disk Buchner funneland the alumina gel obtained is washed 3 times with 3.5 litres ofdistilled water.

The filtering and washing time is 24 h.

The characteristics of the alumina gel thus obtained are summarised inTable 5.

TABLE 5 Characteristics of alumina obtained according to Example 5.Example 5: Dispersibility index 100 Ta (10% (%) Size (020) (nm) 2.8 Size(120) (nm) 3.5 Sodium Na (%) 0.442 Sulphur S (%) 0.0284 Filtration time24 h

1. Alumina gel having a dispersibility index greater than 70%, acrystallite size between 1 and 35 nm, and a sulphur content between0.001% and 2% by weight, and a sodium content between 0.001% and 2% byweight, the weight percentages being expressed in relation to the totalmass of alumina gel.
 2. Alumina gel according to claim 1 having adispersibility index between 80 and 100%.
 3. Method of preparing thealumina gel according to claim 1, said method comprising at least thefollowing steps: a) at least a first step of precipitating alumina, inan aqueous reaction medium, of at least one basic precursor selectedfrom sodium aluminate, potassium aluminate, ammonia, sodium hydroxideand potassium hydroxide and of at least one acidic precursor selectedfrom aluminium sulphate, aluminium chloride, aluminium nitrate,sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid, in which at leastone of the basic or acidic precursors includes aluminium, the relativefeed rate of the acidic and basic precursors is chosen so as to obtain apH of the reaction medium between 8.5 and 10.5 and the feed rate of theacidic and basic precursor(s) containing aluminium is adjusted so as toobtain a progression rate of said first step between 40 and 100%, theprogression rate being defined as the proportion of alumina formed inAl₂O₃ equivalent during said first precipitation step relative to thetotal quantity of alumina formed at the end of the precipitationstep(s), said first step taking place at a temperature between 10 and50° C., and for a duration of between 2 minutes and 30 minutes, b) astep of heat treating the suspension obtained at the end of step a), ata temperature between 50 and 200° C. for a duration of between 30minutes and 5 hours, c) a step of filtering the suspension obtained atthe end of heat treatment step b), followed by at least one step ofwashing the gel obtained.
 4. Preparation method according to claim 3, inwhich the basic precursor is sodium aluminate.
 5. Preparation methodaccording to claim 3, in which the acidic precursor is aluminiumsulphate.
 6. Preparation method according to claim 4, in which the massratio of said basic precursor to said acidic precursor is between 1.6and 2.05.
 7. Preparation method according to claim 3, in which theprogression rate of said precipitation step a) is between 45 and 90%. 8.Preparation method according to claim 3, in which said precipitationstep a) takes place at a temperature between 20 and 45° C. 9.Preparation method according to claim 3, in which, in the case where theprogression rate obtained at the end of the first precipitation step a)is below 100%, said preparation method preferably comprises a secondprecipitation step a′) after the first precipitation step. 10.Preparation method according to claim 9, in which a step of heating thesuspension obtained at the end of precipitation step a) is performedbetween the two precipitation steps a) and a′), said heating step takingplace at a temperature between 20 and 90° C. and for a duration ofbetween 7 and 45 minutes.
 11. Preparation method according to claim 9,in which said second step a′) of precipitating the suspension obtainedat the end of the heating step is carried out by adding to saidsuspension at least one basic precursor selected from sodium aluminate,potassium aluminate, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxideand at least one acidic precursor selected from aluminium sulphate,aluminium chloride, aluminium nitrate, sulphuric acid, hydrochloricacid, and nitric acid, in which at least one of the basic or acidicprecursors includes aluminium, the relative feed rate of the acidic andbasic precursors is chosen so as to obtain a pH of the reaction mediumbetween 8.5 and 10.5 and the feed rate of the acidic and basicprecursor(s) containing aluminium is adjusted so as to obtain aprogression rate of the second step between 0 and 60%, said progressionrate being defined as the proportion of alumina formed in Al₂O₃equivalent during said second precipitation step a′) relative to thetotal quantity of alumina formed at the end of the two precipitationsteps and preferably at the end of step a′), said second step a′) takingplace at a temperature between 40 and 90° C., and for a duration between2 minutes and 50 minutes.
 12. Preparation method according to claim 11,in which the mass ratio of said basic precursor to said acidic precursoris between 1.6 and 2.05, the basic and acidic precursors beingrespectively sodium aluminate and aluminium sulphate.
 13. Preparationmethod according to claim 11, in which the second precipitation step a′)takes place at a temperature between 45 and 70° C.